Cambodia 20260119
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Headlines:
Thai Troops Play House in Border Villages
Scam Kingpin’s Fall Leaves 5,000 in Custody
Artillery Leaves UNESCO Site Damaged
Brides for Sale to Fill China’s Marriage Gap
Social Media Lands Oppo Politician Behind Bars
Garment Sector Shrugs Off 19% US Tariff
Tokyo and Phnom Penh Investment Matchmaking
Seven Million Air Passengers and Counting
Schools Get Climate-Proof
AI Readiness Ranking Jumps 27 Spots
Crackdown on Telecom Scofflaws
UNCLOS Finally Gets the Stamp
Thai Troops Play House in Border Villages
Two weeks after the December 27 ceasefire supposedly ended hostilities, Thai soldiers remain comfortably ensconced in civilian areas across four provinces, complete with razor wire installations around homes in Pursat’s Thmar Da district. Roughly 4,000 families cannot return to their properties while the uninvited guests show no signs of any desire to check out. Of the 500,000-plus people displaced by the fighting, about 144,000 remain in camps, and 76 schools are still closed over fears of UXO. Bangkok postponed the Joint Boundary Commission meeting, saying it was necessary due to “internal procedures,” and then its navy seized a fishing vessel for good measure. The formal protests lodged in response have done precisely nothing to hurry along a departure.
Read more: Channel News Asia (Occupation), Khmer Times (Pursat Impact), Bangkok Post (Fishing Dispute), Khmer Times (Returns), Cambodianess (UXO Education)
Scam Kingpin’s Fall Leaves 5,000 in Custody
The arrest and extradition of Chen Zhi to China has not exactly shut down the fraud industry, but authorities are making a show of effort. Close to 300 foreign suspects landed in custody in the first weeks of 2026 alone, adding to nearly 5,000 that were detained from 118 raided locations last year. Chen’s operations allegedly generated up to $30 million daily, which puts his Prince Bank’s collapse into rather sharper perspective. Many workers reportedly were able to flee Sihanoukville compounds ahead of raids, and Thai and Vietnamese authorities have been picking up their own nationals who say there were trafficked into forced scam work. Prime Minister Hun Manet promises zero tolerance for operators and the corrupt officials protecting them, but similar promises have been made before.
Read more: France24 (Exodus), Caixin Global (Chen Zhi Profile), Khmer Times (January Arrests), Hanoi Times (Vietnamese Operation)
Artillery Leaves UNESCO Site Damaged
The Ministry of Culture has released its damage assessment for Preah Vihear Temple after Thai military attacks in July and December, and it is not pretty. Artillery shelling and aerial bombardment wrecked architectural elements and conservation facilities in 142 locations within the UNESCO World Heritage complex. Some 14,832 residents had to leave their homes, and conservation work ground to a halt. The ministry now wants international organizations for more support to prevent further deterioration, a request that carries considerable irony given that this particular temple has been a flashpoint for nationalist posturing on both sides of the border for decades.
Read more: Cambodianess
Brides for Sale to Fill China’s Marriage Gap
Girls as young as 14 are being trafficked for forced marriages in China, where the one-child policy has created a bride shortage that remains a decade after the rule was scrapped. The General Department of Immigration was able to repatriate 180 women who had been lured into false marriages during the first half of 2025, but this is surely only a fraction of actual cases. Brokers promise financial aid for impoverished families, then deliver the women to exploitative situations across the border. The Mekong Network to Counter Transnational Crime say that China’s economic boom has enabled men to afford foreign brides, creating the conditions for a regional problem that also affects women from Myanmar, Laos, and Vietnam.
Read more: UCA News (Trafficking Pattern), Jurist (Scam Compound Victims)
Social Media Lands Oppo Politician Behind Bars
Sar Nal, Chief of Chom Chao II commune’s NPP Councillors, learned on January 8 that criticizing the country’s leaders on social media comes with the possibility of a three-year prison sentence. Authorities charged him with incitement because of posts that allegedly suggested Hun Sen and Hun Manet are more focused on keeping their power than on protecting territorial integrity. The international community, including the EU, Canada, Australia, and the US, continues to watch Kem Sokha’s house detention as a bellwether for political reconciliation.
Read more: Khmer Times (Incitement Charge), Cambodia Daily (Sokha Case)
Garment Sector Shrugs Off 19% US Tariff
A new 19% tax on exports to the United States has done remarkably little to slow the Cambodian garment juggernaut. Exports of garments, footwear, and travel goods hit $15.52 billion in 2025, up nearly 16%. Garments alone were worth $11.4 billion, and footwear jumped a quarter to $2.09 billion. The GFT industry now is responsible for half of the total national export value.
Read more: Khmer Times (GFT Exports), Khmer Times (Trade Balance), AKP (EU Exports)
Tokyo and Phnom Penh Investment Matchmaking
Japan and the Kingdom have set up a Business Co-Creation Team, directly as a result of Prime Minister Hun Manet’s May 2025 visit to Tokyo. Ambassador Ueno Atsushi says the Team is part of an “Economic Co-Creation Package” designed to make the investment climate more appealing to the Japanese. The numbers suggest it’s working: the number approved projects rose from 414 in 2024 to 630 in 2025, and committed investment has gone up by nearly half from ~$7 billion to $10 billion. Chinese investors are also circling. Bilateral trade with China last year was in excess of $19 billion. Tokyo has some catching up to do.
Read more: Khmer Times (Japan Partnership), Khmer Times (Chinese Investment), Kiri Post (Trade Growth)
Seven Million Air Passengers and Counting
Nearly 7 million international air passengers came through Cambodia last year by way of 36 airlines operating and almost 65,000 flights at three international airports. New carriers including Etihad, Turkish Airlines, Emirates, and IndiGo helped, and Air Cambodia has put a bow on an order for ten Boeing 737 MAX aircraft that will enter service by 2031. The State Secretariat of Civil Aviation expects a 14% annual growth rate, supported by Techo International Airport’s opening.
Read more: Cambodianess (Passenger Growth), Cambodianess (Boeing Order)
Schools Get Climate-Proof
The government got $16 million in climate finance to make 240 primary schools climate-resilient centers, apparently helping more than 392,000 students and teachers beat the weather through 2030. The BRACE project, co-funded by the Green Climate Fund and Global Partnership for Education, will retrofit schools with solar systems and systems to withstand flooding.
Read more: Kiri Post (BRACE Project), Khmer Times (WFP Partnership)
AI Readiness Ranking Jumps 27 Spots
The government’s AI readiness ranking leapt from 145th in 2024 to 118th from 195 countries in the Oxford Insights Government AI Readiness Index. The improvement is the result of a series of efforts,including the establishment of the National Research Center for Artificial Intelligence in Education.
Read more: Cambodianess
Crackdown on Telecom Scofflaws
The Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications cracked down this week on unauthorized telecommunications equipment, making a prohibition on the importation, distribution, or use of devices like boosters and jammers a bigger issue if the holders don’t also possess the right permits. Violators will be at risk of up to 5 years in the pokey and fines of 10 million riels (~$2500).
Read more: Khmer Times
UNCLOS Finally Gets the Stamp
The National Assembly ratified the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on January 16, just about 40 years after signing it. The unanimous 114-vote approval will create a legal framework to protect maritime sovereignty and make it easier to manage maritime affairs - tools that might be soon be useful, given recent neighborly *cough* disagreements. The ratification will provide Cambodia standing for maritime delimitation and better international presence in maritime governance.
Read more: Kiri Post
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